07 September 2014

We
SleuthSayers are very fond of the ladies at Dell’s mystery magazines. A
name that often arises is that of Jackie Sherbow. Jackie works as the
Senior Assistant Editor for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
She's been exclusively employed by the magazines since 2011, and her
previous jobs at Dell Magazines spanned from customer service to
subsidiary rights. She also writes poetry and her work has appeared in Newtown Literary and at Go Places.

As the senior assistant editor for AHMM and EQMM
as well as a writer, I have firsthand experience with both sides of the
submissions process. My time working at Dell Magazines predated my
first experience with sending work anywhere, so I’ve always tried to
remind myself when addressing the unknown editorial staff of various
publications that they are—like myself, Janet Hutchings, and Linda
Landrigan—human. That doesn’t always assuage the hesitance, anxiety, and
general unease (“just click send!”), that can come with submitting your
work and waiting for a response, but hopefully my experiences shared
here can help demystify the operation behind the scenes, at least at EQMM and AHMM.

I’ll
start off by saying that it’s hard to proclaim any hard and fast
commandments about what not to submit. Every submission (depending on
the targeted magazine) is read either by me, our Editorial
Administrative Assistant, Linda, or Janet. So if the plot works and
interests us, the characters are intriguing and believable, or (yes, or)
the voice is compelling, your piece is likely to get at least a second
look.

Here are some words about the types of stories
that we see a lot of but are less likely to make it through. Sometimes
after a few hours of slush reading I feel like I need to take a hot
shower. Why? Well, mysteries and thrillers are bound to have violence.
But the violence needs to be purposeful, not gratuitous. Violence for
violence’s sake—and violence that outweighs what we know about a
character and their motivations—usually doesn’t cut it. A piece that
reads only as a twisted, gory revenge fantasy isn’t likely to make it
through.

The same idea goes for supernatural,
fantastical, and science-fictional elements. Both magazines have
published plenty of pieces with these motifs. But the rules of the
tale’s world need to make sense and remain consistent, and there still
needs to be a crime or mystery. The otherworldly elements need to fit in
with and enhance the mysterious, puzzling, or criminal aspects of the
story, not overwhelm them.

The types of characters who appear most often in the submissions piles are criminal and/or adulterous spouses. For AHMM,we see a lot of hardboiled private eyes and genius serial killers, and for EQMM,
we see a lot of hit men. This doesn’t mean we don’t want to see these
folks, and they certainly do appear in the magazines, but they can’t
just be a reiteration of what we’ve already seen. Invoking genre
conventions can work well in homage or as pastiche, but it can’t be all
there is to the narrative.

What we don’t see a lot of, by the way, are classic mysteries. (How’s that for a clue?)

About
those cover letters: If you’re comfortable with it, good marketing
probably doesn’t hurt you. But if you’re spending a lot of time thinking
about that special “thing” that will get you through the door, it’s
better that that “thing” be in your work itself than in your cover
letter. There are no magic words or pass codes to figure out. A clever
or friendly letter is fine, and of course feel free to let us know where
you’ve been published and if someone sent you our way. But spend more
time polishing your piece’s prose than coming up with a way to woo the
editors. That can feel like wining and dining, and in the end, your yarn
ends up in the same place as the rest of them.

One among the myriad of evolving norms in the game is the growing popularity of e-submissions. While EQMM was already on-board with electronic submissions when I began as editorial assistant, AHMM
is currently making the transition. The e-subs process makes it easier
(and less costly) to submit and also makes it easier for us to keep
track of submissions. Ultimately, though, the effects are broader.

For
one thing, since it’s easier to submit, it’s easier to submit … a lot.
That’s fine, and it’s good to try and try again. But if you have dozens
of stories stuffed in the pipeline, ready to send in every week or so,
your writing might instead benefit from some time spent editing and
getting feedback. It’s not unheard of that Janet or Linda might write
back with some criticism or suggestions, or offer to look at a revision,
but even a form rejection tells you something about the way your
writing could (or couldn’t) fit in with a publication. Revisiting your
work before continually submitting takes thought, and that thought is
fruitful and necessary.

Another change that e-subs
systems brought is the visual homogenization of every offering.
While small identifiers and quirks of style are discernible with
hard-copy manuscripts, submissions seen on a computer screen or an
e-reader look basically the same. This could be taken negatively, since
brightly colored paper or a fancy paperclip won’t catch our
mail-opener’s attention (please refer to above notes about cover letters
and marketing!). But it can also be a good thing. Your story is judged
by … your story! Bare bones, and your words only.

Speaking
of your words: Be aware, in your writing, of your voice. As much as a
“hook” of an opening line can make us want to keep reading, so can an
authoritative and authentic tone. Plenty of interesting characters and
creative plots that crop up in the submissions fall flat when that’s
missing. On the other hand, authors whose stories are lacking in plot or
character might receive an extra look and perhaps a personal response
if the voice is gripping enough.

As some final advice,
I’ll iterate something that has proven true for me as both an editor and
a writer: The best way to ready yourself to submit to the magazines—or
wherever you’d like to submit—is to read them. Better than I could
explain, those pages will tell you what sort of work fits in, as well as
provide influences that will only help out.